


The Turkey!

by Comp_Lady



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, Thanksgiving Dinner, kitchen disaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 08:31:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12723144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comp_Lady/pseuds/Comp_Lady
Summary: It had been tradition for the Woodhulls and the Strongs to break bread together on Thanksgiving for generations; when Anna and Mary take a moment to hide from the commotion in the kitchen they find themselves facing a disaster





	The Turkey!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rapid_apathy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapid_apathy/gifts).



It had been tradition for the Woodhulls and the Strongs to break bread together on Thanksgiving for generations.

Anna had been going to the gatherings for a few years now, ever since she married Selah. Sitting next to her husband in the Woodhull's dining room and dealing with the meddlesome inquiries of relatives. Avoiding Abe's pained looks. It never got any less awkward.

Anna tries not to complain though. Not on the drive there, or when Selah's great aunt catches them on the stoop of the Woodhull manor. Not when Great Aunt Something-Or-Other keep them there for twenty minutes in the cold, or when her coat is whisked away the moment she is inside to a side room. Where it will suffocate under a dozen other coats while she tries to will warmth back into her hands. Complaining won't get her anywhere, she knows this. Better to just keep her chin up and weather through the night.

So, she smiles and chats, avoiding Abe's father and other cantankerous visitors (from both families) as much as possible.

Eventually Anna finds her way into the kitchen. It's the one place where everyone doesn't seem to like to congregate, the dining room and the living room both being much more popular. Anna likes to hide out there under the guise of watching the food, so the other women could go socialize and relax.

She's not terribly surprised to find Abe's wife, Mary sitting at the small table in the kitchen. Mary gives her a half smile and a shrug.

"It's quieter back here."

Anna nods, sliding into the seat across from her. Trying to ignore the awkward air between them. They've never really spoken much, even at these gatherings. Mary was usually swept up by a cluster of relatives, which is what Anna thought would be happening this year. Considering she and Abe just had a baby.

"The baby keeping you busy?"

Mary laughs. It's the kind of quiet, tired laugh that all parents seem to have.

"Yeah, Abe is busy parading him around the living room right now. I think. Thomas has been excited to see all the new people. Things with Selah going well? The two of you are going to open a bar soon right?"

Anna nods. "Yeah, if everything goes well with the bank. We don't think there will be any issue, but you never know."

"That's good, I hope it works out."

"Thank you."

They sit without speaking for a long moment. It's not silent. The sounds of chatter float in from the other rooms, the ancient coffee machine gurgling away, something prompts a scream of laughter from the baby. For a moment though, things are peaceful for the two women.

For a moment.

"Do you smell that?" Mary asks at the same time Anna goes stiff in her seat. Smoke, she smells smoke.  


"Yes, what is it?"

They're both out of their seats and moving for the ranges, Mary checking the pots on the burners while Anna goes for the ovens. The first oven is fine, casseroles and other dishes housed within bubbling away. When Anna opens the other she is met with a cloud of dark grey smoke.

"Oh god!"

Anna rears back from the cloud of smoke, the distinctive flicker of a flame visible from behind the overly large turkey. Mary grabs a pair of oven mitts and moves in to pull the turkey out, Anna scrambling to grab a pair for herself to help heave the heavy pan up onto the counter. Kicking the oven door closed behind her so the fire isn't fed. Once the turkey is on the counter and safe she turns off the oven, crouching to watch the little flame flicker through the door's window, Mary darting off and coming back with a fire extinguisher.

"What is- is it food? Did something drip?" Mary asks, leaning in closer.

Anna shakes her head, "I don't think so, I don't see any food that feel. It looks… I think it's the heating element?"

Indeed, at the back of the stove a flame licks around where the heating coil links to the wall of the oven. They watch it for a moment with bated breath, silently hoping with the oven turned off and no feed of oxygen it will die on its own. It seems to slowly start to go out, the flame growing smaller in increments. Mary is shaking her head though, and Anna feels like she's just waiting for everything to get worse. They don't speak. Carefully, Mary adjusts her grip on the extinguisher and pulls the pin, aiming the nozzle forward. Anna stands up, wrapping both hands around the handle of the oven door. A shared look.

Anna opens the door.

The instant the door is clear Mary squeezes the handle, a quick blast putting out the small flame.

Like that the little fire is gone.

Mary and Anna stand there for what feels like an hour, staring at the blackened corner of the oven. Adrenaline leaving them with shaking limbs and racing hearts. They're sure that at any moment one of the others in the house will to come investigate what happened. No one comes though. Even minutes later, when Anna has closed the oven and Mary has set the extinguisher to the side. They stand there, trying to catch their breath, glancing between each other and the stove and the bird.

Moving towards the bird as one it doesn’t take long for them to identify that the turkey is only half cooked. The top of the birds back is a nice golden brown, the meat seeming to be tender and juicy. All it takes is closer examination to reveal that the underside is still pale pink and uncooked.

"Oh my god," Mary murmurs. Glancing at Anna in a sort of horror. Neither of them really want to go out there and inform both extended families that there will be no turkey for the Thanksgiving dinner.

"We… we could clear out the other oven. Move the turkey in there…" Anna says, distracted as she glances around the kitchen as if an answer will crawl out of the Manor's woodwork.

"Where would the casseroles go? Those still have time left to cook."

"I don't… I'm not sure. We don't have another solution at the moment," Anna says. Moving forward to open the oven door and start removing the dishes in there. She's slipped the oven mitts on and has opened the door when Mary grabs her arm.

"Wait! The roaster!"

"What? The what?"

"The roaster! Abe's parents have this big like—" Mary mimes out a large square shape before turning to the cellar steps "—they usually use it for roasts and big dinners. They had it at the family reunion this past summer."

Anna follows her downstairs. Following her to the row of cabinets along the wall. "Will it even be big enough to hold the turkey?"

Mary sighs, quick and harsh, before giving a jerky shrug. "I'm not sure, but it's worth a try though. They keep it down here somewhere, in the box that it came in."

Anna nods, opening a cabinet at random and helping Mary search. It's not until they reach the fifth cabinet that Anna finds the battered box sitting on the bottom shelf. A picture of the roaster in question on the side. Anna lets out a triumphant cheer as she grabs it. They rush back upstairs, and she hands the heavy box over to Mary. Helping her pull the roaster out and set it on the counter before moving over to the turkey. Together they have the turkey moved, fitting snugly in the roaster, and cooking again in no time.

In the aftermath they're left standing there, realizing that they just barely avoided disaster.

"Is everything alright in her- why is the bird on the counter?" Abe says, drawing their attention to the doorway. Thomas balanced on his hip.

Anna cracks first, an almost hysterical laugh bubbling up from her chest. Prompting a grin and a giggle from Mary. Soon they're both laughing in a sort of giddy relief. Leaning heavily against each other as they laugh hard enough for stitches to form in their sides.

**Author's Note:**

> [hmu on tumblr i guess](http://comp-lady.tumblr.com/)


End file.
